The Bebop Blues: A Cowboy Bebop Story
by Word Jester
Summary: EDITED! They've known each other since their syndicate days and even though they didn't have much favor for each other they have each others back. Their pasts are coming back to haunt them, will they find the patience to stick together one last time?
1. An Encounter with the Past

_"It all started in the year 2021, ring-shaped hyperspace gateways were constructed across the solar system, allowing easy interplanetary travel._

_Unfortunately, the gate network contained a fatal instability that was ignored by the contractors who built the system. The instability grew until a gateway near Earth exploded, releasing a powerful burst of energy that cracked the Moon. _

_In a cataclysmic disaster referred to as "The Gate Accident", meteoric debris from the devastated Moon rained down on the planet, destroying much of Earth's surface. The death toll was by far the most catastrophic in recorded history; around 4.7 billion lives were lost in the initial incident alone. _

_Decades later, debris from the disaster still falls on Earth with the same frequency as rainstorms, forcing those remaining on Earth to live mostly underground. Most left Earth after the Gate Incident and spread out across the solar system, living in colonies on Venus, Mars, some habitable asteroids, Saturn's moon Titan, and the Galilean Moons of Jupiter as well as many space stations and a penal colony on Pluto. _

_After the advent of space travel, the bounty system of the Old West was reinstated by the government to help curb growing crime levels. Bounty hunters are encouraged to capture criminals and return them, alive and relatively unharmed, to the authorities for monetary rewards," _an old Indian woman explained to the children surrounding her. The small Earthlings took in everything the woman was saying as if it were water, their eyes wide and begging for more.

In the corner of the room stood a woman about twenty-five. She was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed and her lengthy red hair tossed carelessly over her left shoulder. With a cigarette placed in the corner of her mouth she looked upon the small group with red eyes depleted of emotion.

"Have you ever met a bounty hunter before Lady Heidi?" one of the older children (about sixteen or seventeen) asked.

"I'm sorry to say, but no I haven't little Rakesh," the woman named Lady Heidi laughed. She smiled sweetly at the children around her and then looked up, catching the white smoke out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes settled upon the woman in the corner and her sweet smile turned into a small frown.

"Well, that's enough for today children," Lady Heidi concluded turning to look at the group before her. Ignoring the chorus of groans and moans the old woman stood to her feet and limped towards the woman, her frown forever deepening.

Noticing the lady headed towards her, the mysterious woman let the cigarette fall from her mouth and burn out on the Earth's dirt ground. Dusting herself off she stepped from the shadows and looked down at the elderly woman that stopped before her.

A soft gasp escaped Lady Heidi's mouth when she saw who the mystery woman was. Acting without thinking Lady Heidi pulled the tall woman into a hug, breathing in her scent.

The mysterious woman was taken back with surprise when she felt the woman's body against her own. She really had not forgotten her as she had hoped, this would make telling Lady Heidi even harder.

"Where have you been child?" Lady Heidi asked pulling the girl away from her round body so she could get a good look at her. "My child you haven't changed a bit, wait until Vikrama knows that you've returned!" Lady Heidi trailed off when she saw the blank look in the woman's eyes and the nonexistent smile on the woman's face. "You haven't returned have you child?" She dropped her hands to her side when she saw the woman shake her head.

"You always were smart Lady Heidi," the woman said, her usually relaxed voice shaking slightly. "I need to tell you that you need to forget about me now. The old Haruka is gone so I need you to get on with your life and stop worrying about me." The woman named Haruka stared into Lady Heidi's eyes with determination, the tears begging to fall locked away deep inside her.

"Why child? What has happened since the last time you visited?" Lady Heidi asked. The old story teller felt like she should know. She had raised Haruka since she was a small infant and now that she had finally returned she says that she (Lady Heidi) must forget all about her and think of her as dead! The old woman wanted an explanation.

"Just trust me when I say that you are in great danger if you continue to wait for me. If somebody comes looking for me you must say that I died a long time ago and that's **all** you know, understand?" This was the best for Lady Heidi and everyone else that had ever known her on Earth, Haruka did not want her past to kill off anybody else she cared about, she just hoped that Lady Heidi would understand.

Lady Heidi understood what Haruka was trying to say but she did not want the poor child to carry this on her own! Such a burden should be split and shared with her loved ones but she knew that once Haruka ordered someone to do something she expected them to follow what she said. She always was looking out for others even if she did get a little bossy at times.

"Alright child I will obey your wishes but when this settles over please, come visit, it was so good to see your face again." The elderly woman looked up at Haruka with a pleading gaze, hoping that this was not the last time she would see the young woman.

Not promising anything Haruka hugged Lady Heidi one last time and walked off. Taking in a last glance of her childhood home Haruka headed up to the surface towards her ship, the Bumblebee.

The Bumblebee was what its name foretold, it was black and yellow (the reason for the name) and was long, sleek and pointed at the end. The ships' engines were located under the spacecrafts' wings, humming a little as they cooled down. The ship's windowpane was tinted in a black color to where nobody could look in and see what was inside. On top of the ship was a latch that one could turn and pull hard enough to locate a door.

Climbing on to the ship's top Haruka turned the latch and pulled, opening the door that blended in so cleverly with the ship's paint. Jumping into the ship's center, she closed the door behind her and settled into the only seat in the ship.

The control board was filled with tiny, multicolored buttons and gadgets, some setting off their own glow in the darkness. Flicking one switch the cockpit was washed in a yellow light. Pressing another button Haruka heard the engines come alive and the wheels keeping the ship from touching the ground retracted into the ship, disappearing into a hidden compartment until called upon again. Flipping on another switch the radio blasted an old rock band from the early 21st century, drowning the cockpit in male screaming and guitars solos. Reviving the engines Haruka shot into the air, bobbing her head in time with the music.

Breaking the Earth's atmosphere quickly she disappeared from a certain someone's gaze, their curious brown eyes filled with tears as he was only left with memories of the occupant within the ship.

Farther off another pair of eyes watched the boy, their eyes filled with sympathy. _'Please come back soon Haruka, you do not know how greatly you have been missed.' _the second person thought, calling for the first person to come home for supper.


	2. Just Another Day in the Life

"Hey, Haruka you there?" a gruff male voice called over the radio. Casting her eyes towards the beeping intercom, she sighed and flicked on the switch to answer the man's question.

"What is it Jet? You usually don't call this early and no I don't have any food for you or Spike." Just thinking about the later person and how he ate up the last food delivery for the three made her blood boil.

"It's not about food Haruka, it's about a bounty. This one's name is Asimov Solensan and he's worth 2.5 million woolongs. I'll send you the information in a minute just meet us on Tijuana," the man named Jet explained.

"Okay, I'll be there, see ya soon, Jet." Flicking off the intercom she turned her ship around and shot off for Tijuana.

"Where are they?" Haruka asked clearly irritated. Docking her ship, she climbed out of her Bumblebee and headed for the nearest phone. Picking up the receiver she quickly dialed in Jet's number and waited for him to pick up. Not even a minute later Jet's face popped up on the screen before her.

"Where are you?" she asked, keeping her growing frustrations in check.

"I had to stop by and pay a visit to the cops to see if they knew anything about Asimov and Spike is paying a visit to Old Man Bull," he said in a calm voice. He seemed to ignore the apparent irritation on Haruka's face.

"Well you two chat with old pals, I'm gonna go find a lead and collect the 2.5 mil see ya later, Jet." Not giving him a chance to respond Haruka disconnected and stormed off.

Heading down the familiar streets of Tijuana made memories come back to mind, memories of a certain close friend and Haruka. Before she could become too wrapped up in her memories however, she shook her head and scuttled down the sidewalk, avoiding the local people rushing past.

Haruka came upon a bar named "El Res" and entered, suddenly feeling very thirsty. Upon entering the bar, she was met with the familiar scent of cigarette smoke. Letting the door close behind her, Haruka found herself a seat at the counter, ignoring the old men in the corner staring at her.

"One screwdriver," she mumbled looking up at the bartender. Seeing him nod his head, Haruka looked down at the counter and waited for her drink. The sound of a scraggly male's voice caught her attention, causing her to turn and look at the three men.

"This again, son of a bitch! Taking my money like that you cheating dogs! Why the only reason you can live here is cause of what I done! I busted my tail to dig that gate!" the man closest to Haruka exclaimed. He had on a dirty red and white cap with an N on it covering his bushy gray/white hair. His nose was huge and his mouth was long and every time he talked you could see the missing teeth within his mouth. His skin was wrinkly and in his mouth was a cigarette, the source of the smell.

"For crimeny's sake you always say the same thing when you're losin," the second closet man next to Haruka growled. His straw hat that was covering his straight gray hair hid his face. "We all dug that gate together and you know it!" That thankfully shut the first man up.

"That we did," the third man said. He sat there with a faraway look in his eye, unaware of his current surroundings. He talked as if it just happened yesterday, "We worked like there was no tomorrow." That statement got the first man fueled up once more.

"And what do we got to show for it?" Before he could continue his ranting, the front door opened, revealing two shadowed figures in the doorway.

One was a man in his mid twenty's with black hair reaching his jaw line and sunglasses shielding his eyes. His dark blue jacket was a little dirty but it covered up his white shirt and matched his dark blue pants and cowboy boots.

The person behind him was a woman about your age. She had long brown hair that reached a little past her shoulders and brown eyes that shifted everyway every other millisecond. It appeared that she was pregnant for her belly protruded outwards and she wobbled a little as she walked. She wore a purple dress that dipped low so in the chest area that everybody could see her cleavage. On her feet she wore black shoes.

The two entered the bar innocently; Haruka saw right through their gimmick, they were there for something. Sitting a few seats down from Haruka the man ordered a beer while the woman ordered a Bloody Mary.

Sliding Haruka her screwdriver the bartender replied, "I got the vodka but I'm afraid I'm fresh out of tomato juice."

"I'm sure there's one can in the back room," the man said coolly. Catching her drink, Haruka watched closely over the rim of her glass as the man reached into his pocket and pulled out something that was blocked by the woman's massive belly. Shifting her look upwards Haruka saw that whatever it was had convinced the bartender to go look in the back.

"I'll check," he, the bartender said in his deep voice. He placed the man's beer in front of him and disappeared into the back to check. Without so much as a glance towards his beverage, the man followed the bartender. Haruka eyes watched them until they disappeared into the back. She and the rest of the inhabitants in the room fell into silence once more as the door slammed behind the two.

_'It takes two people to check for tomato juice?' _Haruka took a sip of her drink before casting a gaze towards the woman a few seats down.

She leaned forward and took a drink of the man's beer, her breasts resting on the counter for everybody to see, her dress barely concealing them. Rolling her eyes Haruka glanced towards the three men only to find that they were staring at the woman's breasts, drooling disgustingly. Scowling in repulsion Haruka turned her eyes away from the men and settled them upon the black and white calico cat across the room.

It was lounging in the sun, soaking up the warm star's heat as its tail swayed back and forth. Its eyes were closed in pleasure and Haruka could faintly hear the soft thump of its tail each time it hit the table.

Her ears suddenly picked up the screeching of tires outside and the slamming of doors following.

Brushing off the noise, Haruka focused back on her drink, taking another satisfying gulp. _'What's taking those two so long to look for a damn can of tomato juice?' _ Outside the sound of soft padded footsteps reached her ears and she quickly concluded that any local or tourist did not own them.

Perking up her ears just in case, Haruka brought her attention back to her drink just as the handheld in her pocket vibrated against her thigh. Growling in irritation she wrestled the handheld out of her pocket only to see that it was a text message.

Pressing the text button she found the note only to hold a simple message and a picture of the man that entered the bar with the woman earlier. The text read:

_This is our man, he is reported to be armed and dangerous so be careful. Contact me or Spike when you have a lead or have found him, DO NOT take on this man by yourself Haru! -Jet_

Quickly placing the handheld back into her pocket, Haruka downed the rest of her drink and stood to her feet, catching the gaze of the men and the woman. Leveling her eyes with the woman's, Haruka stepped towards her, the red head's intent unclear to even herself. However, before she could do anything, the calico hissed loudly and darted from its perch on the table.

Furrowing her brow, Haruka turned to see what spooked the feline when the sound of glass breaking reached her ears. All Haruka remembered seeing before she dove behind the bar was the sleek, black gun attached to an unknown arm; seconds after that the shooting started.

Covering her head so to block her face from the shattering glass and wood her ears picked up the sounds of the deafening machine guns ripping holes through everything the bullets punctured. Silently she prayed for the old geezers' safety, she may not have been fond of their perverted ways but that did not mean they should die for it.

Taking out her own gun, a .44 magnum revolver colt, she kissed it and waited for the right moment to act. Hearing the pause of the bullets, she made her move. She swiftly rose and fired off a few shots, managing to drop a few of the men who were now in the room.

From the corner of her eye, Haruka noticed the woman hiding behind an overturned table, offering her own damage to the group of men. She seemed to be holding her own and even managing to take down one or two of them, a feat that brought an amused smirk to Haruka's lips.

A bullet barely missed Haruka's head, lodging itself instead in beer can that flipped off the counter upon impact. Cursing loudly she ducked down quickly and rolled from behind the counter, ending up beside the woman. Haruka motioned that she meant no harm and waited for another opening. Before she had a chance however, somebody emerged from the back room.

Turning her head Haruka's eyes landed upon Asimov. What she saw before her made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and her stomach flip in unease.

Asimov's dark sunglasses were now removed to show his blood shot red eyes and his skin was sweating profusely. His chest heaved up and down rapidly, as if he had just run a marathon. He had a crazed smile etched onto his face reflected eerily by the crazed look in his dark eyes.

_'What the hell happened back there?' _

Before Haruka could even blink, Asimov was charging for one of the men with the machine guns. He moved just like any other running human being but what surprised Haruka was that he was dodging the bullets like they were traveling at a snail's speed!

Haruka watched as Asimov killed the two machine gun wielding men, one of the men shooting the ceiling fan as he fell. Instinctively Haruka covered her head so her arms could block the falling sparks from the friction of the bullets hitting the fan. Snapping her head up almost as quickly as she shielded it, she watched with wide eyes at what Asimov did next.

Moving towards the last living man Asimov watched with feral eyes as the last man shot at him in an act of desperation. The bullet zoomed through the air at a breakneck speed and it seemed that the bullet would seal Asimov's fate but at the last minute, the crazed bounty head moved out the way and stood before the man.

Snapping his head back Asimov sent his cranium smashing into the man's head and watched with demented glee as the man fell to the ground dead. The impact didn't seem to only affect the now dead man but Asimov as well. As soon as the dead man hit the ground Asimov seemed to have lost all the superhuman energy he had moments ago. He stumbled clumsily about the room.

"Asimov!" the woman cried, standing to her feet. Rushing to his side the woman caught him before he had a chance to fall to the ground. "Asimov, let's go before the cops show up!" Struggling towards the door the woman looked back one more time, her connecting with Haruka's.

Her desperate gaze said all that was needed to be said. Sighing, Haruka looked away from her and listened as the two walked away from the bar, their footsteps fading with each clap of the foot.

The bar was quiet once more but the sense of death hung heavily in the air. Grumbling under her breath Haruka hid her gun in her boot for safekeeping and stood to her feet. Stretching, she stepped over one of the men's bodies and sat down on one of the holed seats at the bar.

_'This can't be happening!'_ She dropped her head onto the counter with a loud thud. She heard the sound of something shifting behind her and turned around quickly, her gun in her hand. The three old men from earlier stood before her, hands raised high in the air. Shaking her head, Haruka returned her gun back to her boot and waved them off. Not needing to be told twice, the three scampered out of the pub quicker than Haruka had ever seen an old person move before. Chuckling to herself, Haruka reached into her pocket and

Dialing Jet's number, Haruka pressed talk and waited for the ringing to begin. She only had to sit through two rings before the cyborg answered.

"Where are you?" the two asked in unison. Rolling her eyes she started once more before Jet could say anything. "I'm at the El Res and I just ran into our friend. Where are you?"

"I'm on my way; you did say El Res, right?" Haruka ignored the fact that the cyborg had clearly avoided answering her questions.

"So I take it your cop buddies didn't have any good leads, huh?" Haruka teased, amusement transparent in her tone.

"Just stay where you are Haru, I'll be there shortly." Before she had a chance to protest he hung up, leaving her with the annoying end call dial.

Hanging up her phone, Haruka growled under her breath as she jammed the handheld back into her pocket and slumped against the bar , crossing her arms like a little child.

_'Who does he think he is? I'm not about to stay here!' _With that thought in mind she fished out her handheld once more and dialed in Spike's number.

"Yo?" Spike's smooth voice echoed through the earpiece. Rolling her eyes Haruka pulled up the phone's screen and sent the man a glare.

"Where are you?" she asked hotly, scanning her area quickly.

"I'm headed to look for some food; my stomach and my baby are hungry." Restraining herself from throwing the phone at the wall Haruka said through clenched teeth.

"What's the nearest gas station?" She had to get to him so the two of them could go look for more leads. It seemed that all the bounty heads were attracted to him so that was the best move.

"I'm headed for Zona Notre in the far north end of town; I'm pretty sure the Lazy Cat is still open for business."

"I'll meet you, there." Not waiting for his response Haruka hung up her phone and placed it back in her pocket. Standing to her feet, Haruka headed for the door, stroking the calico that was licking up the spilled beer on the ground on her way out.


	3. Of a Bounty Hunter

Standing in the doorway of the bar he knew that something had gone down and to make matters worse there was no Haruka in sight. Sighing he scratched his bald topped head and scanned the bar before entering. Sitting down on one of the seats by the counter he reached over the counter to grab the liquor hidden in one of the brackets.

Reading it he said, "Presidente eh, think I'll have some on the house." He took a swig, his throat gulping down the liquid loudly.

Outside the screeching of tires reached the cyborg's ears. Turning towards the noise the cyborg had just enough time to dive behind the bar counter before the front doors slammed open. Two men handling guns appeared in the doorframe.

One man was shorter than the second one with dark glasses and a cowboy hat covering his blue hair. His yellow shirt was opened showing off his wimpy chest and there was a bow tie tied around his neck. This man was the one to talk first.

"Damn! Just look at this, Asimov went berserk!" When he talked, Jet could see his unkempt teeth (well the few teeth he had left).

"No kidding, this Asimov's no joke. We better find him before the cops do," the second man said. Dark shaded glasses also covered his eyes and his head was covered by a dark brown cowboy hat. His blue chest-revealing shirt was tucked into his blue pants and when he talked, you could see the very few teeth in his mouth.

The two moved into the bar and settled against the counter, unaware that Jet was hiding behind it listening in. The two took in the scattered dead bodies around them before the first man piped up, "Maybe we should let the cops take care of him. As long as he's using that Red Eye on his self you can't beat him!"

"We got to, if we don't get that Bloody Eye back trust me we'll all be twisting in the wind," the second man said, looking out the window.

"Maybe so huh?" the first man said, shrugging it off.

Having heard all that he needed to know Jet stood silently to his feet and tapped the taller man's shoulder. He slammed the bottle of Presidente into the second man's face as he turned around. The shorter man turned towards Jet in confusion only to be turned back around with Jet's robotic arm around his neck.

"Tell me some more," Jet smirked, the broken liquor bottle held dangerously close to the captured man's neck.

_Where the hell is he? _

Haruka kicked the side of the soda machine as she headed back to her aircraft. It seemed like she had looked everywhere and there was still no sign of Spike.

_This is ridiculous. _

Muttering a few more curse words under her breath, Haruka turned a corner only to find her idiotic crewmember chatting away with the woman she saw at the bar earlier that day. Ducking behind the pillar behind her, Haruka peeked around the corner to see the two staring each other down. Apparently, Spike had figured out that that woman was with Asimov.

Heavy footsteps reached Haruka's ears and turning, she caught sight of Asimov headed towards her, his head down cast. Sweat ran heavily down his forehead and a handkerchief was placed to his mouth to smother his loud panting. In his rushed pace he ended up collided harshly with Haruka.

The red head woman crashed to the ground, as did he, a look of disgust plastered on his face and a look of surprise plastered on hers.

"Watch where you're going wench," Asimov said, standing up and brushing his self off. Without so much as a second glance her way, the rude man stormed off.

_I have half the mind to just shoot his ass. _

Gathering herself together, she stood to her feet and continued around the corner, forgetting that Spike and the woman were just around the bend.

Taking her glaring eyes off her feet she looked up just in time to see Asimov choking Spike from behind, a sadistic grin plastered to his sick face. Haruka rushed forward to help her companion, her gun slapping against her leg reassuringly.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled. She swiftly took out her gun and pointed it steadily at the back of Asimov's head.

"Let him go and I'll think twice about blowing your head off." Haruka's trigger finger twitched pleadingly, begging her to blow a hole in the man's head.

However, the man simply ignored her, his mouth letting out an amused sigh.

Having seen enough of this and noticing the determined gleam in Haruka's eye, the woman – who had been watching the unfolding in panicked silence – spoke up loudly, "Asimov, that's enough! Let him go!" Her words apparently got through to the male for he released Spike (although it was a little too reluctantly for Haruka's taste).

Haruka caught the green haired male before he collapsed and watched the two fugitives make their escape in their (stolen) car.

Sighing, Haruka looked down at Spike only to see his neck slightly bruised from the choking and his vision blurred.

_What am I gonna do with you Spiegel?_

Laying him gently on the ground Haruka stood to her feet and fished out her phone. Dialing in Jet's number, she waited for Jet to pick up.

Fortunately, she did not have to wait long for on the third ring the balding cyborg picked up. "Yo," he said causally.

"Get your ass over here to the Lazy Cat; we had another run in with Asimov and now the idiot's out cold." Haruka tried her best to ignore the inquisitive looks shot her way by the many customers stopping at the gas station.

"I'll be right there." He ended the call.

Sighing, Haruka replaced her phone back in her pocket and settled down beside the unconscious bounty hunter. Digging out a cigarette and lighter from her pocket she gracefully popped the cancer stick into her mouth and lit it. Blowing out the smoke stored in her mouth she began to play with her lighter to pass the time and ignore the stares passed her way.

Out on the highway headed towards the Zona Norte Asimov and his girlfriend, Katerina were traveling in a tense silence. To occupy her time Katerina stared out the window at the mountainous scenery around her.

"Why'd you stop me?" Asimov asked, breaking Katerina's concentration on the outside world. Turning towards him, she waited for further explanation. "He would've been dead in another minute; I wanted to see him die."

"Asimov please this has to stop!" Katerina wanted more than anything for things to go back to the way things used to be, before the drugs and the gangs.

"I think you liked him, didn't you?"

Looking away from her sweat drenched boyfriend she replied, "You left me there for so long Asimov. I was just waiting for you to come pick me up. Let's go Asimov, like you promised! I want to get out of this life. I know that I can be happy on Mars." This last statement made Katerina smile as she thought about all the wonderful things she had heard about Mars.

Letting it go for now Asimov stared at the road ahead, determined to continue selling the red eye and making the money he thought he deserved. His hands clenched at the steering wheel as he thought of the red haired woman he bumped into earlier and the green haired man he nearly choked. He should have killed him and dealt with the woman when he got the chance, Katerina would not get in his way again, he would be sure of that.

It seemed like the same tumbleweed had rolled past for the fiftieth time, the crunching sound teasing Haruka in a strange, maniac way. Sighing, she flopped on to her back and groaned loudly. "Jet! Where are you?"

She turned her gaze towards a still unconscious Spike to check on his condition. Thankfully the bruise on his neck was gone and his breathing was steady and even. Shifting her eyes towards the sky, Haruka pictured random images in the clouds, ranging from a dog to a turtle.

Quickly becoming bored with the activity however, she groaned loudly and closed her eyes in an attempt to get a few moments of sleep.

"Having ourselves a little nap huh?" Jet asked. Cracking open her eyes a little, Haruka could have kissed the man who stood before her.

"I just had a sweet dream," Spike's smooth voice drifted into her ears. Turning her head Haruka's eyes landed on a now conscious Spike Spiegel.

"That's heartwarming, and you can go ahead and finish your dream on the Bebop. I'm cashing in my chips on this one, it's impossible to catch the guy," Jet grumbled. He walked over to Spike's ship's left wing and leaned against it. "There's no way to win it. When Asimov left his syndicate, he snuck some stuff out with him, some serious brew. This stuff is a serious mind frag.

Behind him Haruka and Spike jumped to their feet easily and dusted themselves off, ignoring Jet's information. The man was not impossible to catch; Jet just had bad luck (especially since Haruka ran into Asimov twice in one day, one time literally).

"It's a new kind of eye spray the syndicate cooked up, very pure. It takes two months just to make one vial. Our boy took off with every drop, which made him rather unpopular. They keep sending hit teams after him but all they get back are corpses. Seems like Asimov's been getting pumped up by using the stuff himself. " Turning to face the two he continued, "It's called bloody eye."

"No kidding," Spike said in a carefree tone. In his hand Haruka noticed a vial holding some sort of red substance; it appeared to be the bloody eye Jet was talking about. "You know they're planning to go to Mars?" Playing with the vial some more he waited for the cyborg's response.

"Mars?" Jet asked surprised.

"But before that they have to sell these." The green haired man held the vial out for Jet and Haruka to see.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jet asked.

"Yea, I grabbed it out of his pocket."

"You…met him?" Jet asked, still dumbstruck.

"So to speak," Spike said.

"He nailed you didn't he?" Jet asked. He laughed out loudly.

"You have no idea," Haruka interjected.

Glaring at Haruka, Spike threw the vial into the air and snatched it from the open space before reciting, "The Red Eyed Coyote will appear at the Zona Norte at the far end of town."

The riddle trigged a memory in Haruka's memory, causing her to smack Spike harshly across his forearm. "You went to see Old Man Bull without me!" Folding her arms, Haruka pouted childishly and stormed off, her aircraft her destination.

"What's up with her?" Spike asked rubbing his stinging forearm. "That really hurt!"

Rolling his eyes Jet replied, "Next time take her to go see the Old Man too, you know how much she enjoys visiting him."

"You can't be serious Jet!" Spike said, "That was hardly what I'd call a friendly visit, it was business!" Throwing both hands in the air Jet shook his head in defeat.

"I give up!"

The sound of roaring engines met the twos' ears. Turning towards the noise the two had just enough time to duck from a low-flying black and yellow aircraft zooming past. The wind it created as it passed made the two men fly back, both landing on their backs.

"Great, you've made her mad Spike," Jet growled. Staring after the ship, he shook his head once more and stumbled to his feet. "You better apologize when you have the chance."

Looking appalled at even the thought Spike began to protest when he saw the serious look on Jet's face. "Fine." He hated apologizing, especially to Haruka; she had a tendency to relish in his reluctant sympathy a little more than she should.

"I hate women," Spike scowled. Shoving his hands in his pockets the six foot man headed for his own ship.

Jet chuckled lowly, shaking his head. "It's like I'm babysitting two little kids."


	4. Asteriod Blues

Cops were crawling all over Tijuana but somehow Haruka managed to avoid them all and landed the Bumblebee close to the Zona Norte, just in case. Hopping out of her aircraft, she headed down the street to take up a spot close to the Norte so she could wait for Jet and Spike. Sitting down at one of the tables in the Norte she pulled her hood over her head and scanned the area for the fugitives or Spike and Jet.

The Norte was practically empty save for the three old men from the El Res earlier that day and the black and white calico. Closing her eyes, Haruka listened in on the old geezer's conversation, her chin resting on her folded fingers.

"This again! God damn son of a bitch!" the man with the big nose and red cap yelled out. Slamming his hand of cards down he glared at his two friends. "Taking my money like that you cheating dogs! Why the only reason you can eat here is cause of what I done! I busted my tail off to plant those crops along with my two good buddies!"

"We're the buddies you're talking about!" the man with the sun hat and gray mustache said. He was leaned back against his chair and was calmly listening to his friend's rants as if he had heard it all before (which he probably had).

"Yes sir, that we are," the third man said that dazed look still on his face. "We planted those seeds like there was no tomorrow."

"You were always planting seeds of a different kind, though," the sunhat man said. Suddenly they all got quiet, making it easier to hear the oncoming footsteps.

Opening her eyes, Haruka scanned the area once again to see that Spike had somehow appeared on the bench against the nearby wall, a sombrero positioned on his head to cover his eyes.

_How the hell did his ass get there without me hearing him?_

Glaring at her comrade Haruka shifted her eyes towards the oncoming footsteps only to find that it was Asimov and his girlfriend. Quickly ducking her head, she watched with half closed eyes as the two approached Spike.

"So do you have any Bloody Maries?" Haruka's ears picked up Asimov say as her eyes watched him sit down on the bench beside Spike.

"I only have beer," Spike's deep voice replied, the sombrero cleverly disguising his face.

"I got tomato juice."

"How much?"

"Thirty million woolongs for fifteen packs."

"Fifteen million woolongs."

"I'm in a hurry," Asimov said standing to his feet, "I got other customers."

Placing a hand on Asimov's forearm Spike said gruffly, "Show me."

Smirking, the tanned man reached into his pocket and dug around for the vial. Quickly finding that it was not there, Asimov gasped in panic.

"Looking for this?" Spike asked, his voice changing to its usual carefree tone. Revealing the vial, he waited for Asimov to step in front of him before he stood to his feet and continued. "Do you know how much _you're _worth?"

"What?" Asimov asked, clearly confused on where the conversation was going.

"Two point five million woolong, that's how much you're worth." At this point Spike was now on his feet, his face still covered by that ridiculous sombrero. "I said you were a small fry." Grabbing the sombrero Spike flung it off his head to show Asimov and the woman his face.

A shocked silence ran from Asimov to his girlfriend, neither one believing that the green haired bounty hunter was standing before them. Didn't they just leave him unconscious back at the Lazy Cat? How did he catch up to them so quickly?

"You look surprised," Spike said breaking the silence.

"You look ridiculous in that outfit. I thought you weren't after my bounty."

"There's no thrill in the cheap ones, Asimov, ya know?"

"I think you'd do better as a thief bounty boy, now hand it over!"

"Sure I'd be glad to, I have to pay you back don't I!" Before Asimov could stop him Spike threw the vial into the air and whipped out his gun, shooting the bottle and releasing the substance within.

Smirking, Spike dodged two punches from Asimov and retaliated with two kicks to Asimov's side. Whipping back, Spike sent a half round house kick to Asimov's face which sent him stumbling back. Now angry, Asimov lunged at Spike and threw another punch only for it to be dodged again.

Laughing, Spike rolled over the table Haruka was sitting at and had just enough time to catch it as Asimov threw it at him. Seeing that either she would have to get into the fight herself or back off she jumped out of her seat and dodged the splintered wood pieces that came from the punched table Asimov caused.

Dancing around, Spike began to taunt the infuriated bounty head. "You trust your eyes too much Asimov. You're not a chameleon ya know! You can't see everywhere at once!" Rushing forward Spike sent three punches at Asimov, the third one connecting with his nose. After that, it was all over for Asimov. Punch after kick, kick after punch, Asimov did not have a chance, especially when Spike swung his body over a table, his leg connecting with Asimov's side.

Tearing her eyes away from the two fighting men, Haruka settled her red orbs upon the woman who had not said a peep since they arrived. Surprisingly, she now held a gun in her shaking hands. She appeared to be trying to focus on the dancing Spike.

Taking action Haruka jumped across a few tables (careful not to get too close to the two men) and landed a few feet away from the woman, her gun pointed at the center of the woman's forehead.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The woman glared at Haruka, which she gladly returned. "Hand over your gun."

Before the woman could obey, however an aircraft flew over the Norte Zona and rained bullets down at the small group. Cursing loudly Haruka dived out of the way, narrowly avoiding the projectiles.

The raining bullets stopped almost immediately and Asimov, seeing the chance, yelled at the woman, "Let's go!" Running past Spike and Haruka, the two rushed down the street towards a nearby aircraft, barely noticing the car full of bounty hunters heading towards them.

Fortunately, Spike and Haruka saw it and rushed after Asimov and the woman. Seeing that the two rushed down a nearby tunnel she quickly followed them while Spike stayed behind to take care of the bounty hunters following them. Haruka tracked them to the gas station where she parked her ship.

Unfortunately, she came a minute too late for the woman had a balding man held at gunpoint. Rushing forward to try to stop her, Haruka almost reached her when that blasted aircraft came out of nowhere and began to shoot once more.

Diving out of the way the woman appeared to be unharmed save for a tear in her dress. Haruka on the other hand, wasn't so lucky; a bullet tore through her side. Crying out, she gripped at her side and tried to suppress the wound long enough to capture the woman and Asimov.

Shifting her eyes towards the woman, Haruka saw that the tear in the woman's dress let out about ten to twenty bottles of red eye. Frantically she tried to gather them into her arms and hurry to the aircraft that Asimov had now successfully started.

_So that's how they hide the red eye, she pretends to be pregnant. _

The woman successfully gathered the bottles into her arms and scurried towards the aircraft. Haruka tried to follow in pursuit but the searing pain in her side stopped her from doing so. Cursing her wounded shoulder and the damn aircraft that caused it she watched in unmasked frustration as the ship rose into the air. Looking over her shoulder she cursed Spike and Jet for their slow pace and ran for her ship, ignoring the hot pain running through her side. Jumping into it she quickly started it up and took off after them, determined not to lose them.

Swerving in between some bounty aircrafts that were chasing the fleeing fugitives, Haruka closed in on Asimov's ship and pulled up beside them. Looking over to see the woman glance at her, Haruka began to signal for her to tell him to land. The woman merely shook her head and turned her attention to Asimov whose eyes were bulging and teeth were clenched.

Cursing under her breath, Haruka turned to her intercom to try and get them to listen when a stream of bullets hit the side of her ship. Clenching her teeth Haruka forced her ship away from Asimov's and higher into the sky, flipping upside down to take out the ship that shot at her with the guns located on the left side of her ship. Smiling happily, Haruka watched as the ship her bullets blasted explode into a fiery ball.

_That'll teach you to shoot at my Bumblebee! _ Turning her ship right side up she continued her chase Asimov's ship, a few yards above them.

Somehow, Spike had caught up to her little formation and took down another ship that was with the one she shot at. He managed to damage the wing, thus causing the ship to lose control and crash into one of the pillars of a nearby bridge.

"Haruka, you okay?" Spike's voice drifted through the radio.

"I'm fine, they just barely scratched my baby but my side is messed up. We need to finish this quick; I'm losing way too much blood."

"Hang in there."

Gritting her teeth she nodded and slammed her steering wheel forward, jerking slightly when her ship shot off for Asimov's which was now breaking the surface of Tijuana. Spike followed her.

Upon breaking the surface the three ships met with more than a dozen police aircrafts, upon seeing them Haruka knew that this was the end of the road for them. Slowing her ship Haruka allowed Spike to catch up to her and the two followed behind Asimov's ship, giving them a few yards head start.

"Spike," Haruka called over the radio.

"I know."

Floating closer to Asimov's ship Haruka and Spike started in shock when a loud bang came from Asimov's immobile ship. Drifting closer to the ship's cockpit Spike and Haruka looked inside only to find blood splattered across the windshield and the woman cradling Asimov's dead body in her arms.

The world seemed to slow down as the police began to load their guns and Haruka's could practically hear the order for fire. Suppressing a yell, she watched in horror as the attack shot through the ship, destroying the cockpit and throwing the woman into space.

Haruka forced her eyes to stay open as she watched the red eye float from her torn dress as if it were blood. Her hair danced around her in a beautiful way as her hands floated, stretched out before her like she was trying to make one last grab for the bottles before they floated away and were lost forever in the void of space. The shattered glass from the cock pit made the scene even more beautiful as they captured the lights coming from the nearby police cars their reflection dancing around the woman's dead body as if the light was giving her a proper funeral. It was over for her and Asimov.

Tearing her eyes away, Haruka allowed the now red-hot pain in her side to lull her into a painless unconsciousness.

The scent of burning food reached Haruka's nose as she slowly came to her senses. Sitting upright she placed her pounding cranium in her small hands, cringing slightly from the dull ache the gesture caused in her side. With a quick sweep of her environment she found herself to be in her room on the Bebop

_What happened?_

Groaning softly she shifted her feet over the edge of her futon and stood weakly to her feet, stumbling a little as she righted herself.

"Spike!" Haruka called out softly. Shuffling over to her door Haruka leisurely made her way into the hallway towards the loud scent of burning food.

"Jet!" Turning another corner Haruka's ears picked up the light sound of movement in a room nearby. Moving towards it silently she peeked around the doorway only to find a shirtless Spike punching and kicking the air, a small sheet of perspiration cascading down his lean body.

Leaning against the doorframe she took in the sight of the tall man fighting his invisible enemy for a moment longer before making her presence known. Seeing the green haired man tense up she let out a small chuckle and held her hands up showing that she meant no harm.

"I come in peace," Haruka teased lightly. Stepping into the room she walked over to the large glass window looking out at the vast oblivion before her.

"Are you okay?" the green haired man questioned, appearing in the window beside her reflected form.

"I'll live," she shrugged. She bit back a groan of pain as the movement caused a shot of pain to run up her side.

Stepping away from the mirror Haruka smiled lightly at her shirtless comrade before turning and heading for the door. "I'm gonna go check on that food Jet is cooking, it smells good enough."

When she was within inches of the door it miraculously slid open, Jet's bulk body appearing in its wake, a cigarette posed in-between his fingers. "Glad to see you up Haruka. Food's ready." his gruff voice said.

"What is it?" Spike asked, his gaze still looking out across space.

"Beef and Bell peppers." Throwing the cigarette towards Spike the cyborg watched as his long time comrade snatched the floating cancer stick out of the air and inhaled its fumes deeply. Letting the smoke out slowly Spike cast a lingering look at Haruka before flicking the cigarette in her direction.

Catching it with ease she popped it into her mouth and finished it off. "I'm gonna go out and look for some real food."

Jet scoffed loudly after her retreating form.

"This is real food!"


	5. Stray Dog Strut pt 1: It's a Dog?

Sitting in the rundown bathroom of an unnamed shop a mysterious man slowly and carefully unraveled the bandages that were wrapped around his face. Throwing the bandages into the toilet behind him he flushed and turned his attention to the silver briefcase beside him as it shook harshly. His attention was soon captured by something else however, when the sounds of rushing feet met his ears.

"C'mon out, you can't run anymore!" a man's gruff voice announced. From the position of his voice the man could tell that the gruff voiced man was standing outside the stall he occupied.

"We'll shoot!" another male, this time with a rather dimwitted voice warned. The mysterious man couldn't help the smile that graced his face as the tension in the room rose.

"It's all over, Abdul Hakim," the first man said. The man within the stall heard the confident tone in the man's voice and the sound of a trigger being touched.

The man, Abdul Hakim, reacted quickly. Kicking the stall door down he stood before three men, all with guns pointed at him.

"Wanna fight?" the man located on Abdul's left side growled.

"You're crazy!" the man on his right shouted.

Two punches to the abdomen and one kick to the face was all it took to unarm the three. Picking up the suitcase that was behind him in the stall, Abdul walked out of the bathroom calmly without a glance backwards at the unconscious men.

...

Haruka woke to the sound of the television blaring the Big Shot show. Groaning loudly she threw her covers over her head and attempted to go back to sleep. Her attempts were stopped however when a large body landed on her back.

"Rise and shine," Spike's smooth voice announced. Groaning from beneath his lanky body, Haruka shifted as much as she could so he would get off of her. Thankfully he took the hint and his massive weight was off her a few minutes later.

"You saw me sleeping there Spike," she growled, throwing the covers from her body. Glaring at the nonchalant figure before her, she bit back curses and stormed from the room to take a shower.

Once she was clean and ready for the day she returned to the living room and settled down on the couch opposite of Spike. She tossed him a small glare to show that she was still rather sore at him for his actions earlier before turning her attention to the small television.

On the static filled set there were two figures: a dark skinned male and a blonde woman. They were both dressed in ridiculous looking cowboy outfits, complete with hats and old fashioned guns. The show seemed to have just started for the male was greeting his viewers in a loud, annoying voice.

"How're all you three hundred thousand bounty hunters in the Sol solar system doing?"

"It's time for BIG SHOT, the show that brings you information about fugitives!" the blonde announced.

"Well, well, first up for today is…" the television screen switched over to a shot of a crude looking board of wood that read _Today's Menu _in blocked, white lettering, "…this guy Abdul Hakim." The screen switched from the board screen to the next, offering Haruka and Spike a picture of the man known as Abdul Hakim.

Abdul had short, chopped blonde hair that contrasted greatly with his dark skin. His face was pointy and droopy, resembling that of a fox complete with a sly smile. His eyes were dark and mischievous and from what Haruka could see he was a pretty lanky man. In his left ear he had a small hoop earring that was gold and was starting to tarnish.

Underneath the picture of him was a small bullet of information:

**ID: D23578SSB Race: Negloid**

**Height: Six feet two inches**

**Weight: two thirty three pounds**

**Age: Unknown**

"He's known as a serial pet thief," the dark skinned cowboy explained. "This time, he snagged a test animal from a research facility, and is on the loose."

Haruka threw the pillow that was situated behind her at the loud yawning Spike. Motioning for him to quite down she moved to sit in front of the small set, easily catching the thrown pillow that was directed at her back.

"The good news is that he's worth a whooping eight million!" the woman exclaimed.

"The conditions are as always," the dark skinned male started, "Bring him in alive to collect your reward."

"If you kill him, kiss your reward good-bye," the woman shrugged.

"He's the biggest we've had in a while. Do your best to get this guy!"

Haruka tried to get the remaining information from the two but found it increasingly hard to as Jet decided to make his presence known behind her. This caused Spike to strike up a conversation with the cyborg which in turn made her miss the rest of the information. She was about to turn to tell them off but was stopped when a transmission interrupted her.

"Hey!" she shouted, smiling happily at the grumpy face before her.

The grumpy face belonged to a man in his late forties, early fifties. His hair was gray and chopped, large sections sticking up in an unkempt fashion. His large brown eyes stared hard into Haruka's own as he played grudgingly with his thick gray mustache. She quickly found the source of his resentment, the large bruises that decorated his small, wrinkled face.

"Doctor? You got information?" Spike asked.

"About Abdul Hakim," the doctor growled.

Spike was at Haruka's side in an instant, his cheek pressed against her own as he fought with her for the television screen. "I'll take it!" he exclaimed.

"I'll give a discount, three hundred. I got his post-plastic surgery picture."

"Too much, twenty down," Spike protested. He ignored Haruka's agitated face as he continuously tried to push her out of the way.

"All right, two hundred eighty," the doctor sighed. "On one condition!"

"What's that?" Spike asked. He finally stopped his pushing and was listening wholeheartedly to the man on the screen.

"Sock him one. He trampled over me. If you want, punch him a dozen times." The doctor moved his hand away from his face so the three (well more like Spike and Haruka seeing as she and Spike were blocking the screen from Jet) could see the large swollen, wound on his left cheek.

Laughing loudly Haruka promised that she'd do just that for the man and waited patiently for the information the doctor was about to give. Thankfully she didn't have to wait too long. A picture of a dark skinned male appeared on the screen a few minutes later.

The man had a big black afro that seemed a little off with the shape of his pointed face and big, dull eyes. His black, harsh eyebrows were furrowed angrily and his thin lips were pinched tightly. On his pointed chin he had a dark goatee and in his ears he wore a pair of medium sized gold hoops. Needless to say the man very much resembled Abdul Hakim, although Haruka wouldn't be able to tell the difference if she was to take a quick look.

"This is what Abdul looks like right now," the doctor said, confirming Haruka's assumption. "He had a very conspicuous suitcase."

"That info's included in the deal, right?" Spike asked, taking in the man's face. Leave it to Spike to always have money on his mind.

"Oh, all right," the doctor growled, switching the screen back to his bruised form. "It was something that could carry a small woman inside."

"Treasure?" Jet guessed. He apparently moved closer to the two for his voice was closer to Haruka's back. Sparing a glance backwards she found the cyborg to have taken a spot on the arm of the long couch.

"Can't really say," the doctor admitted, drawing her attention back to him. "The way he handled it sure didn't seem that way. Either way, take care of him; I don't want that bastard roaming the streets any longer!"

Nodding her head Haruka stood to her feet and bid the doctor goodbye. "This one is in the bag, Doc." Tossing Spike a challenging look she said, "First one to catch this scumbag buys the other Peking Duck."

The green haired man nodded in agreement, "Be prepared to buy me two plates full!" Jumping to his feet he raced down the hall towards the ship hanger, Haruka close on his heels.

Jet shook his head at their behavior. "See what you've started?" he sighed. Wishing the wounded doctor a good day the cyborg ended the transmission and began to go about his business once more.

…

Two spaceships hovered just above the slums of lower Mars. The two occupants inside the ships were impatiently waiting for the other to land first, a task that seemed neither one wanted to do.

"How long have the two of you been hovering up there?" Jet asked from the other side of the transmitter. He had decided that it be best if the two handled this one, seeing as how they were so intent on showing the other one up. He was happy to play the informant. However, it seemed that their childish antics had gone a bit too far and was basically wasting time.

"You know the one who lands the first has a better chance of finding Abdul before the other," the cyborg pointed out.

Taking this into consideration Haruka smiled evilly at the green haired male and moved her spaceship above the only empty space available below. Unfortunately it seemed that Spike was a few seconds faster and managed to park his Swordfish in her spot before she could even blink.

"Looks like I'll be enjoying two free plates of Peking duck!" Spike teased.

"As they say, 'Don't count your chickens before they hatch'," Jet warned. Haruka grinned at the man's comment. Even though Jet didn't like to take sides most of the time it usually seemed like he favored her more than the hot headed Spike. Maybe it was because she was like a little sister to him but she liked to think that it was because Spike was an annoying dickhead.

"I got this one nailed shut!" Spike reassured. Hopping from his ship he threw her a two fingered wave before he rushed into the streets to start investigating.

Growling lowly at the infuriating man Haruka quickly found another parking space a yard or two away from her original spot. Ending her transmission with Jet she hauled herself out of the Bumblebee and hit the ground running, determined to catch up with Spike.

It didn't take her long to meet up with Spike. The two were continuously running into one another as Haruka ran up and down the different streets of Mars, searching for any vital information that would lead her in the right direction. When the two met up for the last time she found herself in a pet shop named Animal Treasure.

Ignoring his presence Haruka browsed the selection of pets the shop kept, keeping one eye on the woman behind the nearby counter as she did so.

The plump woman had short blonde hair and large blue eyes. Her skin was blotchy and pale and she decorated her ears, neck, and fingers with gaudy jewelry. Her makeup (which consisted of black eyeliner and red lipstick) gave her face some color but mostly gave her face a sickly appearance. She was dressed in a long sleeved purple jacket over a pink shirt. Her lower body was blocked by the counter she was standing behind but you could only imagine the horrible material she had decided to wear. On top of her head was a turtle shell which Haruka was still trying to figure out if it was real or not.

"Is there anything in particular I can help you with?" the odd woman asked, noticing Haruka's eyes on her. Turning her full attention towards Haruka she smiled happily. "All of my babies need lots of love so don't be afraid to take more than one home with you!"

"I'm not much of an animal fan," Haruka admitted, stepping away from a bird that was snapping in its cage to her left. She didn't want it "accidently" nipping her exposed arm.

"Then you must be with the gentlemen who's seemed to take an interest in my fish," the woman said nodding her head in the direction of a large fish tank. "He's quite the looker if you don't mind me saying!"

Haruka smiled slightly as she turned her attention to her partner who seemed to be more interested in the man on the other side of the tank than with the actual fish within. "He's something alright."

Haruka watched with mild interest as her green haired partner pointed towards the ceiling, indicating to the blue haired male on the other side to stand up. Apparently the male understood the gesture for he reluctantly stood with a look of confusion on his face.

Her partner wasted no time in pulling his gun out of his jacket. He pointed the barrel at the scared man's chest. "Did you run out of funds from all that plastic surgery Abdul Hakim?"

"You got it all wrong, I'm not -" the man tried to explain but was cut off by Spike's gruff command.

"Don't move. Pretty slippery how you keep changing your face around, but you're not slipping out on me!"

"What?" the man asked. He seemed to be genuinely confused by Spike's antics, putting doubt into Haruka's mind.

"Now both of you stop this funny business," the woman behind the counter finally spoke up. "My babies are very sensitive please!" Haruka doubted that the woman said that for her "babies" sake, she could see the fear shining in the woman's eyes.

"Spike, you honestly think that this guy is Hakim?" Haruka asked, voicing her doubt.

"Open up the suitcase," the Spike ordered. It was at that moment that Haruka noticed the silver suitcase lying motionless on the counter.

"Why me?" the woman shrieked.

"This is a misunderstanding -" the blue haired male tried to say but his cries fell on deaf ears.

"Do it!" Spike barked. It seemed that his patience had run short; it was time for this wild goose chase to be over and done with.

Beside Haruka, the birds in their cages squawked loudly.

After a moment's hesitation the woman grudgingly complied. "All right, I'll open it." She proceeded to spin one of the small dials that were used to lock the case. Once she was done with the first one she pushed it in and started on the next one.

When she finally had the second dial undone, the woman spared Haruka, Spike, and the blue haired male nervous looks before opening the case. What she saw instantly made her gasp with awe.

Letting the suitcase front drop to the counter the woman allowed Haruka and the two males to see what was inside the case. What Haruka saw was far from what she expected.

The small, golden brown Welsh corgi let out a small whimper as it stood to its four, stubby sandy brown legs. It's long, pointy ears moved every which way as it tried to capture the noise around it. Sticking out its tongue it looked at Haruka and the others happily, its reddish brown eyes dancing in delight.

Spike lowered his gun as he inspected the dog before him.

"A Welsh Corgi," the woman stated, happily petting the dog. "They are very sweet, but you see them everywhere. I'm afraid they're hardly a rare bred."

"Well, how much is it worth? I mean…" Spike trailed off, scratching his head with his gun as he desperately tried to figure out the situation at hand.

"You can sell him for about…two…" The woman held up two fingers to emphasize her point.

"Two hundred!" the blue haired male asked hopefully.

"No, no, no two woolongs!" the woman snapped.

"No way!" the man shouted.

"Yes way, and if you don't like him take him back! Feed the poor thing."

"It is just a puppy," Spike shrugged. "Sorry about the gun thing. Have a nice day, huh?" Clapping the man on the shoulder, Spike made his way towards the exit.

Patting the small Corgi on its head Haruka quickly threw the man an apologetic smile before exiting the shop as well.

"Well that was a waste of time," she grumbled, folding her hands behind her head. She walked causally beside the sulking Spike, careful to avoid the puddles that her partner seemed to be stepping in. "I'm throwing in the towel on this one."

"Didn't want that Peking Duck anyway," Spike sighed. Haruka moved out of the way of a large man that seemed to be in a hurry before laughing loudly at her companion.

"You weren't going to get the Peking duck anyway! I was going to catch Abdul first and then I was going to enjoy the Peking duck while you sat around the Bebop sulking about another loss to me!"

Spike scoffed loudly and was about to respond to her comment when a commotion behind them caught their attention.

Spinning on her heels Haruka watched with wide eyes as boxes were tossed into the air by some invisible force just inside the shop her and Spike left. Following that, animals of all sorts raced out of the shop, squawking, barking, meowing, and crying all sorts of cries as they raced for freedom.

"My babies are all running away! Somebody help!" the shop owner cried, watching in despair as her animals disappeared into the streets of Mars.

Haruka and Spike continued to watch the shocking spectacle as a large, silver truck sped past them before spinning around a corner. Haruka didn't dwell on the truck for long however, for the man she had been searching all day for ran from the shop and in the direction of the truck.

"That was Hakim!" Spike exclaimed. "What the hell is going on around here?"

Wasting no time, she pushed Spike backwards before racing after the bounty head, determined to catch him before Spike managed to. Peking duck was on the line!

Dodging the various people that happened to be shopping Haruka made sure to keep her sights focused on Hakim's back and her ears trained on the silver truck behind her that seemed to be gaining speed.

Hanging a sharp right she raced down an alley way that Hakim ran down and caught the sounds of the trunk's doors slamming. Sparing a glance behind her, she saw two men dressed in white racing down the alleyway after her and Hakim. Writing them off as other bounty hunters she picked up her pace and put more distance between her and the men.

The alley lead Haruka onto another main street as she watched Abdul clear the railing that separated the sidewalk from the road. Imitating his actions she narrowly avoided two cars that crashed into the railing behind her. Glancing back to see if they were okay her eyes landed on a familiar green haired male who had just emerged from the alley and was proceeding over the top over the crashed cars.

Turning her attention towards Abdul once more, she cleared a second railing before rushing across a less car infested street. Her eyes stayed locked on Hakim as he jumped over a table where a group of men were crowded and disappeared around the corner. Jumping over the table as well she shouted an apology before rounding the corner, her peripheral catching a frustrated Spike running the table over without stopping.

In no time Spike had somehow caught up to her and was easily passing her up, closing the distance between him and Hakim. Throwing Haruka a cocky grin he knocked over a few fruit stands to slow her down. Unfortunately, they worked.

Cursing him loudly it took Haruka a few minutes to clear the chaotic market and when she finally caught up with Spike there was no sign of Hakim and on top of that Spike and the dog were dripping wet from head to foot.

"What happened to you?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"The damn dog," Spike growled. "I hate dogs!"

Laughing loudly she scooped the Corgi into her arms and ruffled its fur lovingly. "I'm pretty sure it's not too fond of you either!"

"Let's just get back to the ship," Spike snapped. "And the dog's riding with you!" As if to say it was okay with the idea, the Corgi barked happily.

Biting back a laugh Haruka followed the scowling Spike back through the streets of Mars and towards her ship.


	6. Stray Dog Strut pt2:Who Gets the Prize?

Thankfully Jet decided it would be best to dock the Bebop in one of the many shipping yards of Mars. Luckily he had picked the one that was close to Haruka's and Spike's ships. When Haruka presented him with the Corgi he smiled his small smile, instantly taking a liking to it.

Haruka had now been on the ship relaxing for an hour or two, trying to come up with a new plan on how to catch Hakim. Unfortunately, she was drawing a big blank and Spike was taking a shower while Jet was off in one of the many storage rooms of the ship looking for something. The Corgi, seemingly liking her presence, sat at her feet, its chin resting on its front paws.

The sounds of loud, clunky footsteps brought Haruka out of her thoughts. Turning her attention to the stairs behind her, her eyes landed on a smiling Jet. "I found what I was looking for," he announced, flashing a red collar for her to see.

The dog, seeing the presence of another person it liked, jumped to its feet and rushed to greet him. Its small stub of a tail wagged happily.

Squatting before the dog, Jet fixed the collar around its neck and leaned back to see how it looked. Smiling in content he said, "Here you go, a nice little collar alright?"

The dog stuck out its tongue and panted in delight. Haruka couldn't help but smile at the cute scene as the sound of bare feet slapping the floor met her ears.

Turning her attention to a towel covered Spike Haruka smiled happily when she caught sight of his scowl. She knew he didn't like dogs or kids and this was a perfect way to get on his nerves!

"Got a dog instead of a duck, huh?" Jet asked, his tone teasing.

"Yeah right," Spike muttered, drying off his unruly hair. "What have you got?"

"Well, I've got plenty. This is a Welsh Corgi, one hundred percent mongrel."

"One hundred percent," Spike repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah, that's right," Jet confirmed. "That's all the percents there are."

"SHIT!" Spike cursed loudly. "This whole thing gives me a headache and it's all because of this worthless mutt!" He pointed an accusing finger at the dog's innocent face.

The Corgi, with its innocent face still intact, opened its mouth and bit down hard on Spike's finger. Spike, in turn, let loose a loud, pain filled yell.

Haruka laughed loudly at his pain, enjoying every minute of it.

"The dog is worthless, Spike," Jet admitted, "but the owner is worth a fortune. Think about it and try to make peace with the pooch, would ya?"

Spike scoffed loudly. "I hate kids and pets; they're all a royal pain in the butt."

"Seems you have something in common then," Haruka commented.

Spike turned around to snap at her but it seemed that the dog wasn't through with him yet. Biting at the towel wrapped around Spike's waist, the dog yanked its head back, taking the towel with him.

"Hey!" Spike yelped.

Turning her head away from the disgusting sight Haruka chuckled loudly as the sounds of Spike's footsteps pounded after four paws. Jet joined in on Haruka's laughter as Spike and the Corgi raced down the hall, their growls and yells echoing after them.

…..

Haruka leaned lazily against the exterior of her space craft, half listening to what Jet was saying on the other side of the transmitter and half paying attention to the small kids playing on the playground nearby.

"Why don't you do this part of it?" she caught Spike asking.

"Complaining again? Didn't your grandmother ever tell you that a good boy has to finish what he starts?" Jet teased.

"My grandmother died before I was born!" Spike snapped. Pulling at the leash within his hand he yanked the Corgi, that Haruka fondly named Ein, towards him.

"My condolences," Jet said with mock pity. Haruka bit back a chuckle as some of the children raced over to them to marvel loudly at their ships. Haruka enjoyed seeing the sparkle in their eyes but Spike looked rather irritated at the group of boys touching his ship.

"Quit your whining," Haruka said nonchalantly, "We've got Abdul right where we want him. For once just stick to the plan." Locking her ship she waved goodbyes to the kids and led the way towards the place where Abdul was supposed to be.

Haruka tried to tune out Spike's consistent whining but it proved to no avail. She was about to tell him to shut up (and not in a nice way either) when Ein rushed from his unsuspecting grip and down the street.

Spike swiped unsuccessfully at the leash as it left his hand. "Hey, wait!"

"How could you let him go?" Haruka shouted, rushing after the small animal.

"It wasn't like I knew he was about to do that! He just stopped all of a sudden and then took off just as suddenly."

"If you had a tighter grip on the leash this wouldn't have happened," Haruka snapped, dodging a group of elders as she rounded the corner. "Get Jet on the phone!"

"Already ahead of you," he growled, his transmitter pressed to his ear. "Jet, he got away!"

"What? You mean Hakim?" Haruka heard Jet ask on the other line.

"The dog!" Spike shouted. Hanging up, Spike tossed Haruka the transmitter before picking up his speed and leaving her to catch up to him and the gang of dogs that were suspiciously following a large gray truck. Tucking the phone into her pocket she pushed past some of the few people that were trying to get a better look at the odd spectacle, throwing apologizes behind her shoulder as she raced along.

Thankfully Haruka caught up to Spike in no time, wondering what the hell was going on with all the dogs when she chanced a look behind her to see a brand new yellow space car zooming down the street towards her and Spike.

"We've got company!" she shouted, turning her attention towards her companion. Haruka watched as he looked behind him and silently cursed when she heard him confirm the driver's identity: Hakim Abdul.

Chancing another look backwards she saw that the car was a few inches away from her running legs. Shouting a loud curse she knew that she had no chance of diving away from the car before it rammed into the back of her legs.

Haruka braced herself for impact just as the front of the car collided with the back of her knees. Tumbling over the hood she used her arms to cover her face as her body slid off the side of the car and tumbled to the pavement. Her body stopped its rolling a few seconds after making contact with the ground.

Struggling to her feet Haruka inspected her body for any major injuries. When she found none she turned her attention to the body of Spike who had met the same fate as her. Rushing to his side she helped him to his feet.

"You ready to catch this bastard?" she asked.

Fishing out the remote to his ship he pressed the call button and glared heatedly after the yellow car that had pulled ahead of the truck and group of dogs.

"Let's end this," he growled. Grinning in anticipation she pressed the button on her remote which was deep inside her pocket. A few moments later the sound of air engines reached her ears.

Haruka was up in the air in no time and had Jet on the transmitter to get a general direction in which Hakim was headed.

"He's headed for the causeway!" Jet informed.

"Trynna out run me huh," Spike growled, "I don't think so!"

"Don't get too hot headed Spike," Jet warned.

"You haven't seen hot headed yet, Jet," Haruka commented. She spotted the yellow space car (which stuck out like a sore thumb) and pointed it out to Spike.

"There's our guy!" Spike exclaimed. Swooping down to hover just above the speeding yellow car and the gray truck, Spike left Haruka to catch up to him.

Haruka sighed heavily, "Gotta go, Jet, Spike's spotted Hakim and I have a feeling that I'm going to have to back him up." She hung up before the cyborg had a chance to explain and mimicked Spike's actions.

Haruka was now following the three vehicles along the freeway, dodging cars as she tried to keep up with them. She watched as Spiked rammed the bottom of his ship on to the top of Hakim's stolen car. He did it once more before the gray truck behind him started to shoot.

Readying her own weapons Haruka aimed them for the truck and began to fire, effectively allowing Spike to move away from the truck's attacks. "Hurry up and get Hakim!" she shouted.

"Easier said than done!" Spike snapped. Moving his ship out of the truck's shooting range, he turned his attention to the yellow car just in time to catch a surprising sight.

"What the hell?" he muttered, bringing Haruka's attention to the yellow car as well.

It seemed that a struggle of some sort was going on within the car for it was swerving violently from side to side. Haruka arched an eyebrow and watched in confusion as the car's two doors opened. When the car swerved dangerously close to the edge of the bridge a small, familiar Corgi jumped from the car, hit the side of the barrier and toppled over the edge towards the water below.

Seeing that Spike was torn between rescuing the dog and capturing Hakim, Haruka made the decision for him.

"Spike, you get Ein, I'll handle Hakim and the truck!"

Growling in frustration, he grudgingly rolled out of her way and dove for Ein (who was well out of view by then). Training her focus on the two vehicles below her, Haruka resisted the urge to check and make sure that Ein was okay.

Readying her weapons once more she aimed and fired without hesitation. The bullets rained down on the large truck, destroying the strange mechanism on top and bursting the four tires that kept the vehicle running.

Letting out a loud yell of exhilaration Haruka watched in triumph as the truck (which had somehow managed to attach a cord to the back of Hakim's yellow car) swerved violently to the side, taking Hakim's car along for the ride.

Her feeling of triumph slowly diminished however, when the truck and Hakim's flew off the freeway bridge. Luckily (and possibly unluckily) they were well away from the water and were headed straight for the police department.

"Damn it," Spike groaned, "Who gets the Peking Duck?"

Rolling her eyes Haruka turned her ship in the direction of the Bebop and started home.

…

Laughing loudly Haruka shielded your face from the small spray of water that came from Ein's shiny coat. Drying off some more of the water that was caught in his coat she allowed the dog to lick her face lovingly.

"He's really taken a liking to you," Jet commented. Turning to face him Haruka found the cyborg leaning against the door frame of the bathroom. Grinning widely she shrugged her shoulders at his comment.

"He's got good taste," she teased. Jet laughed at her joke before shaking his head.

"Well aren't you modest," Jet teased in return. Haruka laughed at his comment and was about to say something when Ein jumped from her arms and raced from the room, dodging between the legs of a surprised Jet.

Exchanging looks with Jet the two were prepared to run after the dog when Spike's yells met their ears. Grinning in amusement Haruka decided to slowly make her way to the living room, intent on making Spike even more furious with Ein. It worked.

She entered the room behind Jet just as Spike yelled, "That's cold!" Smiling fondly at the small Corgi she petted the still wet dog and stuck her tongue out at the glaring Spike.

"Aw," Jet teased. Placing his hands on his hips the aging cyborg smirked teasingly at the irritated green haired male.

"That's why I said I don't want any stray mongrel or mutts in here!" he shouted.

"But you're the one who brought him here," Jet pointed out. Seeing that he had stumped Spike he continued. "Anyway, we've gotta do something about the ticks."

"No, ticks!" Spike exclaimed. He threw a glare at the now scratching Corgi. "Let's just salt him and eat him!"

Throwing a glare Spike's way Haruka was about to tell him off when Ein beat her to it. Baring his teeth at the green haired male, the small Corgi jumped at the unsuspecting man and bit his nose. Spike, in turn, let out a loud yell of pain.

After having a good laugh at the spectacle she grudgingly helped Jet detach the dog from Spike's nose. Jet restrained the furious cowboy as Haruka carried the small mammal out of the room and out of harm's way.

Kissing the top of Ein's head she said, "I think you and I will make a great team!" As if understanding what she was saying, he barked loudly and licked her cheek lovingly. "I'm glad you agree."

Behind her, Spike hollered, "I'M GOING TO KILL THAT DOG!"

Sharing a grin between the two, Ein and Haruka silently entered Haruka's room to begin planning for the next attempt that would send Spike up the walls.


	7. Honky Tonk Women

A/N: I apologize for this one being so short but I thought that I was best to leave Haruka out of the beginning of this episode. It just seemed right. That's why this one is so short….

"_Get down!" a younger Haruka shouted. Kicking her white haired companion to the ground she opened fire on the men charging at them. Throwing away her empty gun cartilage she used the butt of her gun to knock back a few of the men who got too close. "I need some back up!" _

_Her companion instantly came to her aid, shooting the faces off some of the men who had crowded around her. Moving closer to her, Haruka's companion helped her take down the rest of the men. When no one was left standing the two faced each other and exchanged relieved smiles. _

"_What happened to you back there?" Haruka laughed. Wiping the sweat from her forehead she plopped down on the ground, her friend taking up a spot beside her. _

"_Got…distracted," her friend said in his deep, mysterious voice. _

"_It seems like you've been doing that a lot, Vicious," Haruka sighed. _

A loud collision with something outside the Bebop forced Haruka from her dream and face first onto the floor. Groaning loudly in protest, she picked herself up from the ground and looked around sleepily. She found herself in the same place where she fell asleep, her room.

"What's going on?" she muttered to no one in particular. Stumbling towards her door she exited her room and made her way slowly down the hall. As she rounded a corner a strange sound reached her ears. Curious, she made her way towards the sound.

The sound led her to a small bathroom close to the living room. Cocking an eyebrow she opened the door only to find a woman around her age chained to the railings. She had purple hair that stopped just below her ears and was pushed back with a pink headband. She wore a dark red jacket over a white button up shirt and a red bowtie. On her lower half she wore skin tight, dark red pants and on her feet she wore dark red high heels. Her big, green eyes stared up at Haruka in hope.

"Who are you?" Haruka asked. She placed her hands on her hips and awaited an answer.

"A woman being held here against her will!" the woman cried.

"I was actually asking for a name," Haruka explained.

"Faye Valentine!" she snapped. "Could you persuade your boyfriend and grandpa to let me go?" Haruka scowled at Faye Valentine's, comment.

"That idiot's not my boyfriend and the cyborg isn't my grandpa," she said simply. "They must have a good reason to have you chained up like this."

"We do," Jet's rough voice explained. Turning her attention towards his voice Haruka found the cyborg leaning against the wall behind her, Spike at his side.

"What do you want?" Faye asked rudely, glaring daggers at the two men.

"Well, we were thinking about you and we had a change of heart," Jet explained. "Why lock a fine young lady like you up in a place like this?"

"You creeps aren't getting any ideas are you?" Faye asked.

"On the contrary, we're going to take you to a place where you'll feel very protected," Jet said.

"Oh and where would that be?" Faye muttered.

"The police station," Haruka, Spike, and Jet said in unison. Haruka watched in amusement as Faye's indifferent look turned to one of disbelief.

"You were right, 200Ks is chump change compared to your price, Faye Valentine," Jet smirked.

"I don't believe this; did they put a bounty on me?" Faye asked.

"Six million, fat woolongs," Spike informed.

"Six million," Faye scoffed. "Is that all they're offering?" The three bounty hunters looked at the woman before them in disbelief.

"How much do you owe anyway?" Jet asked.

"Oh come on, have a heart! Take me anywhere but the police!"

"They're the only ones who'll pay your bounty," Jet said.

"I can't be stuck in one place, it'll kill me; my whole family is like that!" Faye cried.

"Yeah right," Spike scoffed. He and Jet began to walk away as the woman began to spit some ridiculous story about her family.

"We're Romanees, for eons we've roamed the stars looking for love, it's our way." This stopped the two in their tracks and had caught Haruka's interest.

"Huh?" Spike asked, digging into his ear.

"You don't know anything do you?" Faye snapped. "Romanees are gypsies and you know what we call someone like you? A Gaucho that means a bumpkin who doesn't know which way is up!" She glared heatedly at Spike who was still digging into his ear.

"A Gaucho, I like that," Spike shrugged. Having heard enough of the woman the two males once again started to walk away. That's when Faye switched her tactics.

Howling loudly she exclaimed, "The wilds are calling me, you can't keep me locked up!"

"Save it for the police!" Jet snapped.

"C'mon guys, let's get outta here," Spike said. Once again the two made for the living room.

Faye groaned loudly. "I'm not going to run away! At least uncuff one hand; I can't even go to the bathroom like this!"

"She's right Jet," Haruka said, "Unlike you we need both hands." She tossed the two a wave before following Spike into the living room.

Plopping down on the couch opposite of Spike Haruka stretched out her body and began to play with Ein. "She's a real piece of work, where'd you find her?"

"Long story," the green haired male muttered. Haruka nodded her head and left it at that, not really interested in the story anyway. A few seconds later Jet joined her and Spike in the living room.

"I'm telling you guys, that girl is money in the bank!" Jet exclaimed. He took a seat in a chair overlooking the living room from a balcony.

"Yeah, no penalty for early withdrawal," Spike said.

"She's more trouble than she's worth," Haruka muttered. She chuckled lightly as she watched a happy Ein squirm excitedly under her fingertips.

"Scared of a little competition?" Spike teased. Luckily he had his eyes closed and didn't see the heated glare directed at the back of his head.

"It's just like Charlie said in my dream, in order to receive you have to give. See Spike you've got to listen to your dreams, that's how you'll find your dream girl."

Haruka snorted at Jet's words. "In order to find his _dream _girl he has to have dreams; Spike only has nightmares!" She smirked at the scowl Spike shot at you. Before he could reply however, a force colliding with the outside of the Bebop flung Spike out of his seat and onto Haruka.

"Who's that?" Spike growled. A man's face popped up on the small transmitter in response to his question.

The man had short black hair that was gelled back and thick black eyebrows that matched his well kept chin hair. He had beady black eyes that gleamed with overconfidence and a smirk that Haruka wanted to smack off his face. He wore a white suit over a red dress up shirt and blue tie. On his fingers he wore various rings that shone in the light that was in the room.

"I'm not sure who you are, and I really don't give a damn; you have my chip and I want it back," the man said curtly.

"Well isn't he a straight-to-the-point kind of guy," Haruka muttered, pushing Spike off her. "What's this talk of a chip?"

When Spike gathered his composure and shot Haruka a glare he said, "I don't know who you are and I don't have to give you anything."

"It's just a poker chip; it has no value to you," the man said smoothly.

"On the contrary, we've become quite fond of it and we know what it's worth," Jet explained. This caught Haruka's interest, this was the first time she had heard about any chip. "Three years ago, ISSIP developed the master decryption system called Crypt Breaker. Rumor has it that shortly after its completion the programmer turned up dead and the program disappeared, a program with advance artificial intelligence. It can encrypt and unlock virtually any security code, but the catch is the program is encoded, so whoever has it needs the key to open it, the key to the key so to speak. They say the cops and the ISSIP Special Forces have been searching every corner of the asteroids for it, guess they never thought to look in a casino and even if they did, who would ever suspect a humble poker chip?"

Haruka watched with renewed interest as Spike dug into his pocket and searched around for something. Grabbing onto the something, he pulled it out and presented it to her. It turned out to be a poker chip.

"It seems that someone has done their research," the bearded man commented. Jet chose to ignore the man's snide comment as he continued his explanation.

"I even used to be with ISSIP's Special Forces myself, but that was in another lifetime. Of course a casino is the perfect place to hide large sums of stolen money. You had the right idea, you just chose the wrong day. Now it's only right that we do our civic duty and give it to the police, since as you pointed out, it's worthless to us."

"It's not worthless if I pay you for it," the man commented.

"Three hundred million woolongs….nah, I'll go easy on you, make it thirty million, cheap for a magic key huh?" You watched Jet's smug face as he waited for the man to answer.

…

Haruka settled uneasily beside the confident Spike. She was dressed identical to him in a red and white space suit complete with a large fish bowel that served as her helmet. Finding her balance she tuned in her radio to listen to Jet's rumbling voice.

"Six million turns into thirty million," Jet sighed in content. Haruka smiled at the tone of his voice.

"Our little nest is growing," Spike commented.

"Let's just get this over with," Haruka spoke up.

"Aw, is the little girl scared of being sucked into space?" Spike teased. She sent a glare his way.

Instead of snapping a reply at the cocky bushy haired male Haruka pressed the gravity button on her space suit and floated away from him and towards the stationary ship a few yards away. She heard Spike's loud laughter as he followed suit.

When she close enough she pressed the gravity button on her suit once more, sighing quietly in relief when her feet connected with the ship's exterior. With Spike standing by her side she waited patiently for the transaction to begin. She didn't have to wait long before a man in a white space suit and large fish bowel like helmet appeared on the deck.

"Exchanging cash up front is rare these days," the man commented. Haruka watched in disgust as the man's eyes took her figure in slowly. She felt a small twinge of gratefulness when Spike stepped in front of her.

"Guess I'm just an old fashioned kind of guy," Spike shrugged.

Haruka watched from behind Spike's shoulder as the man bent to pick up the small suitcase beside his foot. He opened it to show a large amount of cash. Spike, in turn, pulled out the poker chip and presented it to the man.

"Beautiful," the suited man breathed, his voice traveling into her ear through her ear piece. Haruka couldn't help but shudder slightly at the feeling of beady eyes watching her from somewhere inside the ship she was standing on. "Now, we'll both count to three then we'll release the magnetic field and move it up towards you. At the exact same time you'll toss the chip to us."

"No problem," Spike said nonchalantly.

"I'm trusting you pal," Jet's rough voice erupted over the radio.

"Let's do it," the man doing the transaction announced. Squatting in front of the case of money, he impatiently waited for Spike to move.

"One," Spike said.

"Two," the man countered. Haruka caught onto the slight movement of one of his hands and lightly nudged Spike to warn him.

"Three," Spike said quickly, seemingly ignoring her nudge. He tossed the chip towards the man just as the man pulled out a gun from somewhere hidden.

Acting quickly, Spike grabbed Haruka's wrist and pressed hers and his gravity button and pushed off the deck, dragging her into the air with him just as the man fired off a few bullets in their direction.

With Haruka's help, Spike managed to grab hold of one of the ship's many sails.

He made sure she had a good hold on the sail before releasing her from his grip. "Get back to the ship, I can handle this." Haruka opened her mouth to protest when a few more shot fired in her direction silenced her. Covering her body with his Spike made sure to shield Haruka's body from the bullets before turning to see if she was in the clear.

"NOW!" Spike shouted. He pushed his feet off the sail and towards the man, making a point to avoid the flying bullets as he soared closer and closer to the attacking man.

Huffing, Haruka mimicked Spike's actions and floated in the direction of the Bebop, glad to be out of the range of fire. Before she was even halfway to the Bebop a strange ship she had never seen before burst from the Bebop's hanger and took to the sky. She flipped out of the way just in time to avoid a collision with the speeding ship.

As Haruka spun upright she saw that the driver of the ship was none other than Faye Valentine.

"Haruka!" Jet shouted.

She ignored Jet's shouts of worry and watched with wide eyes as missiles were fired from the ammunition pit of the ship she just escaped from.

"Spike, get out of there!" Haruka shouted. She watched with wide eyes as her comrade barely dodged the missiles directed at the escaping ship Faye occupied.

"Don't you think I'm trying?" Spike snapped. "Jet, get me outta here!" Jet didn't need to be told again, he was already making his way towards Haruka's floating figure.

When Haruka was safe and out of harm's way, Jet turned his attention to Spike who was still managing to avoid being killed by the missiles. Once he successfully dodged a missile headed straight for him he turned his attention to the Bebop and hurriedly floated over. When he was safely on the deck, Jet moved out of the missiles' range and watched on with the Spike and Haruka as a missile with reversed polarity careened straight towards the cockpit of the business man's ship.

They watched with dismal stares as the missile collided with the cockpit, instantly killing everyone inside it and destroying any chance of being paid.

"All that work for nothing," Haruka growled. Throwing the helmet off her head she plopped down on the long sofa and began to pet the slumbering Ein. "What do we do know?" She shot a lazy glance in her comrades' direction.

Spike looked down at his open palm which held the poker chip. "We go back to square one." Jet, amused by the man's comment, laughed.

"Good thing there's a casino not too far away." Standing to his feet the cyborg started for the cockpit.

Haruka rolled her eyes. "We just lost a great deal of money to a conniving woman and now you two want to go blow what little money we have left, not to mention the money we haven't even earned yet, on a stupid casino!"

Jet stopped in the doorframe of the room and shared a glance with Spike.

"Pretty much," the two shrugged.

Haruka threw her hands into the air and stood to her feet. Ein, disturbed by the sudden movement, instantly woke up and stood to his feet as well. "Come and get me **before **you get into too much trouble, seeing as Spike loves to make it so painfully obvious that he's counting cards!"

Throwing the two a two fingered wave, Haruka and Ein headed in the opposite direction of Jet, towards her room. "Boys," she muttered in resignation.


End file.
